All collections

Our items are arranged into 80+ individual collections. These are usually named after the kind donors who have given us objects over the last 40 years. Some collections are named after particular subjects, including people and activities.

Often a collection contains closely related items, so browsing by collection can be one way of exploring a particular area of interest.

We have highlighted a few of the larger, significant collections below. Or you can view a list of all collections further down the page.

Bowtell Collection

Albert worked at Salts Mill up to the textile business ending in 1985. He was interested in, and gave talks on, the history of the Mill, Saltaire and the Salt family.

His collection of photographs, documents and objects are a major part of the Saltaire Collection and provide an especially important insight into the textile business.

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Roberts Family Collection

James Roberts was one of four Bradford businessmen who bought the failing textile business from the Salt family in 1893. Within ten years, Roberts was the sole owner. Under his leadership, the business and Saltaire thrived and met the huge challenges of the First World War.

Thanks to the present-day Roberts family, the Collection has access to a rich archive of photographs, letters, newscuttings, diaries and business documents that provide views of James Roberts as a textile magnate, family man, and great philanthropist.

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Denys Salt Collection

Denys, a great-grandson of Sir Titus Salt, donated many items intimately related to the Salt family.

Denys's collection contains everything from some of Titus Salt's meticulous school artwork through photographs, wills and other documents of the Salt family to memorabilia of visits from two of Queen Victoria's children, including some of the crockery they ate from.

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Isabel Salt Collection

Isabel was a granddaughter of Sir Titus Salt, and like others in her family was a political and social campigner.

Isabel's collection contains evidence of this campaigning, as well as more personal items such as letters to her mother, items of childhood clothing, and a curious tin box connected with the German Kaiser.

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Clive Woods Collection

Clive Woods was a local historian, and leading campaigner for the preservation of Saltaire's heritage. He sadly died in 2007, but his large and diverse collection reflects his interests in everything to do with Saltaire.

There are: reasearch notes; historical and modern photographs; documents concerning the history of the Salt Family, the textiles business of Salts Mill, and the preservation of Saltaire's heritage. And lots more besides.

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Collections